Fixing structre for battery rack, energy storage system, and power generation system

The present disclosure relates to a battery rack, an energy storage system, and a power generation system, and more particularly, to a battery rack that is easy to install, an energy storage system, and a power generation system.

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0126310 filed on Sep. 28, 2020 in the Republic of Korea, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries, lithium secondary batteries, etc. Among these secondary batteries, because the lithium secondary batteries have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, the lithium secondary batteries have been spotlighted owing to advantages of free charging and discharging, a very low self-discharge rate, and a high energy density.

Such a lithium secondary battery mainly uses lithium-based oxides and carbon materials as positive electrode active materials and negative electrode active materials, respectively. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate on which a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material are respectively coated are arranged with a separator interposed therebetween, and a sheath material, that is, a battery case, that seals and accommodates the assembly together with an electrolyte solution.

Recently, secondary batteries are widely used not only in small devices such as portable electronic devices but also in medium and large devices such as vehicles and energy storage systems (ESSs). When secondary batteries are used in such medium and large devices, a large number of secondary batteries are electrically connected in order to increase capacity and output power. In particular, pouch type secondary batteries are widely used in such medium large devices because of advantages such as easy lamination.

Meanwhile, as the need for a large-capacity structure, including its use as an energy storage source, recently increases, demand for a battery rack including a plurality of secondary battery cells electrically connected in series and/or parallel, a battery module accommodating the plurality of secondary battery cells therein, and a battery management system (BMS) is increasing.

In addition, it was common for such a battery rack to include a rack case made of a metal material to protect or store a plurality of battery modules from external impact. Moreover, as the demand for a high-capacity battery rack is increasing recently, the demand for a battery rack in which a plurality of battery modules of a heavy load is accommodated is increasing.

However, it was very difficult to accurately position the battery rack of heavy load at a fixing point of an installation site. That is, it was inevitable to move the battery rack of heavy load using transportation equipment, and, when such transportation equipment is used, it was not easy to precisely adjust the position of the battery rack. Accordingly, an arrangement between battery racks is not even, which may cause a problem in that an electrical connection between the battery racks, or a connection of a firefighting facility, etc. may not be smooth.

Moreover, it was more difficult to install the battery rack of heavy load in a narrow site, as well as transport of the battery rack of heavy load. Accordingly, in the related art, it was difficult to efficiently utilize a space of the installation site where the battery rack is installed, and thus there were many restrictions in increasing the energy density of an energy storage system including a plurality of battery racks.

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery rack that is easy to install, an energy storage system, and a power generation system.

These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be understood from the following detailed description and will become more fully apparent from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, it will be easily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the means shown in the appended claims and combinations thereof.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery rack including a plurality of battery modules; and a rack case configured to accommodate the plurality of battery modules and mount to a second rack case above the rack case, the rack case includes a fixer provided on a lower end portion of the rack case, the fixer includes a main body part of a plate shape, wherein the main body part includes a fixing groove formed to be recessed from an edge of the main body part, and the rack case includes at least one bolt provided on an upper end portion of the rack case and configured to be inserted into the fixing groove included in a lower end of the second rack case.

The rack case may include a plurality of shelf frames configured to mount the plurality of battery modules; a front frame coupled to a front end of the plurality of shelf frames; and a rear frame coupled to a rear end of the plurality of shelf frames.

Each of the front frame and the rear frame may include a plurality of pillar portions extending long in a vertical direction; and a connector having a plate shape extending in a horizontal direction to connect upper portions of the plurality of pillar portions and including at least one bolt hole having a part punched such that the at least one is inserted.

The main body part may extend in the horizontal direction to connect lower end portions of the plurality of pillar portions, and the fixing groove may be formed to be recessed from an edge of the main body part so that a body of the at least one bolt is inserted.

The at least one bolt may protrude upward so that a part of the body is inserted into the at least one bolt hole of the connector, and a remaining part of the body is inserted into the fixing groove of the second rack case.

The fixing groove may include a taper portion having a width that is gradually reduced in a recessed direction from the edge of the main body part, and an accommodation portion having an opening such that the at least one bolt is accommodated.

The fixer may include a restraining bar configured to protrude so as to partition between the taper portion and the accommodation portion; and an accommodation groove having an internal space to accommodate at least a part of the restraining bar.

The fixer may include an elastic member provided in the accommodation groove and configured to pressurize the restraining bar to protrude from the accommodation groove.

Each of the front frame and the rear frame may include a bracket including a horizontal section_mounted on the fixer and including a slit groove having a shape corresponding to the fixing groove, and a vertical section having a shape bent and extending in an upper direction from an end portion of the horizontal section and configured to be bolt-fastened to a pillar portion of the plurality of pillar portions.

The fixer may further include a guide protruding and extending in an outer direction from the edge of the main body part so as to guide a movement of the fixer.

The guide may have a shape bent upward at a predetermined angle from the main body part.

The guide may include an extension groove communicatively connected to the fixing groove and formed to be recessed from an edge protruding and extending from the main body part.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an energy storage system including at least one battery rack described above.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a power generation system including at least one battery rack described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure stacks at least two rack cases in the up-down direction, fixes the rack case located below to the ground, and fixes the rack case located above to the upper portion of the rack case located below, thereby further utilizing the upper space of the space in which the battery rack is accommodated, thereby effectively increasing the energy density to the space of the battery rack.

Moreover, the present disclosure includes the fixing groove in the fixing unit of the battery rack, and thus having the advantage of stacking the plurality of battery racks in the up-down direction and easily achieving fixing between the battery racks.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation.

Therefore, the description proposed herein is just a preferable example for the purpose of illustrations only, not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

is a perspective view schematically illustrating a battery rack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.is a front perspective view schematically illustrating a battery rack according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.is a perspective view schematically illustrating a rack case of the battery rack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.is a perspective view schematically illustrating a rack module of the battery rack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For reference, in, a front door of the rack case was removed so that the inside of the battery rack may be viewed.

Referring to, a battery rackaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of battery modules, and at least one rack caseconfigured to accommodate the plurality of battery modules.

Specifically, the plurality of battery modulesmay be accommodated in the rack caseso as to be arranged in an up-down direction. The battery modulemay include a module housingand a plurality of battery cells (not shown) provided inside the module housingand stacked in one direction. For example, the battery cell may be a pouch-type battery cell.

However, the battery cell of the battery moduleaccording to the present disclosure is not limited to the pouch-type battery cell described above, and various battery cells known at the time of filing of the present disclosure may be employed.

Specifically, a rack caseA may be configured such that the other rack caseA may be mounted above. For example, the battery rackmay include two or more rack casesA andB stacked in an up-down direction. Among the two or more rack casesA andB stacked in an up-down direction, an upper portion of the rack caseB located relatively below and a lower portion of the rack caseA located relatively above may be bolt-coupled to each other.

The rack casemay include a fixing unitprovided on a lower end of the rack case. The fixing unitmay include a main body partof a plate shape. The main body partmay include a fixing grooveformed to be recessed from an edge of the main body part

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the two or more rack casesA andB stacked in the up-down direction may be provided. At this time, the rack caseB may include at least one bolt B provided on an upper end of the rack caseB and configured to be inserted into the fixing grooveprovided in the lower end of the other rack caseA.

For example, the rack caseB may include the at least one bolt B in which a part of the main body part is inserted into the upper end of the rack caseB, and the other part of the main body part is inserted into the fixing grooveof the other rack caseA mounted above.

At this time, among the two or more rack casesA andB stacked in the up-down direction, the rack caseA disposed on the upper portion and the rack caseB disposed on the lower portion may have the same structure as each other.

Meanwhile, referring back to, the rack casemay include a shelf frame, a front frame, and a rear frame.

For example, as shown in, the shelf framemay be configured to mount the plurality of battery modules. Specifically, the shelf framemay include a plurality of receiving plates. The receiving platemay have an ‘L’ shape and a plate shape bent at an angle of approximately 90 degrees. In addition, both ends of the receiving platein a front-rear direction may be configured to be respectively connected to the front frameand the rear frame.

For example, as shown in, two receiving platesmay be provided to receive one battery module. The two receiving platesmay be configured to support the lower end portion of the battery modulein a left-right direction in an upper direction. In addition, the two receiving platesmay serve as a stopper for preventing the other battery moduleplaced below from moving in the upper direction.

Meanwhile, referring back to, the front framemay include a plurality of pillar portionsextending in the up-down direction. Upper end and lower end portions of the pillar portionmay be configured to be coupled to an external object, for example, bottom or ceiling, or the other rack caseA. The pillar portionmay serve as a main skeleton of the overall shape that is a hexahedron of the rack case. For example, as shown in, the front framemay include three pillar portionspositioned on the front end of the rack case.

In addition, the front framemay include a connection unitconnecting upper end portions between the pillar portionsin a horizontal direction. For example, as shown in, the connection unitmay be configured to connect between the upper end portions of the three pillar portions. The connection unitmay have a plate shape extending in the horizontal direction, and may include at least one bolt hole H having a part punched such that the bolt B is inserted.

Furthermore, the front framemay include a fixing unitconnecting lower end portions between the pillar portionsin the horizontal direction. For example, as shown in, the fixing unitmay be configured to connect between the lower end portions of the three pillar portions.

The rear framemay include the plurality of pillar portionsextending in the up-down direction. The pillar portionmay serve as a main skeleton of the overall shape that is a hexahedron of the rack case. For example, as shown in, the rear framemay include three pillar portionspositioned on the rear end of the rack case.

In addition, the rear framemay include the connection unitconnecting upper end portions between the pillar portionsin the horizontal direction. For example, as shown in, the connection unitmay be configured to connect between the upper end portions of the three pillar portions. The connection unitmay have a plate shape extending in the horizontal direction, and may include the at least one bolt hole H having a part punched such that the bolt B is inserted.

Furthermore, the rear framemay include the fixing unitconnecting lower end portions between the pillar portionsin the horizontal direction. For example, as shown in, the fixing unitmay be configured to connect between the lower end portions of the three pillar portions.

is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a region A of the battery rack of.

Referring totogether withagain, the fixing unitof the front framemay include the main body partof a plate shape extending in a horizontal direction. For example, the main body partmay extend in the horizontal direction to connect lower end portions of the plurality of pillar portions. The fixing unitmay include the fixing grooveformed to be inserted from an edge of the main body part. The fixing groovemay have a slit shape such that the body of the bolt B provided in the connection unitis slide-inserted in the horizontal direction.

For example, as shown in, the fixing unitof the front framemay include four fixing groovesrecessed rearward from a front end portion of the main body part. The bolt B provided in the connection unitmay be inserted into each of the four fixing grooves. At this time, the bolt B may be fixed to the connection unitof the front frameof the rack caseB located below, among the two or more rack casesA andB stacked in an up-down direction. That is, by tightening the bolt B inserted into the fixing groove, the fixing unitof the rack caseA located relatively above and the connection unitof the rack caseB located on a relatively lower portion may be bolt-coupled to each other.